Press Release July 16, 2026 KEVENTER AGRO LIMITED Rating Assigned

Product	Quantum (Rs. Cr) (SEBI)	Quantum (Rs. Cr) (Other FSR)	Long Term Rating	Short Term Rating	Regulated By
Bank Loan Ratings	0.00	72.50	ACUITE BBB- | Stable | Assigned	-	RBI
Total Outstanding	0.00	72.50	-	-	-
Total Withdrawn	0.00	0.00	-	-	-

Note:- For activities or ratings of instruments falling under the purview of Financial Sector Regulators other than SEBI, the grievance / dispute redressal mechanisms and investor protection mechanisms provided by SEBI shall not be available.

Rating Rationale

­­Acuite has assigned the long term rating of 'ACUITE BBB-'(read as ACUITE triple B minus) on the Rs. 72.50 Cr. bank facilities of Keventer Agro Limited. The outlook is 'Stable'. Rationale for rating The rating takes into cognizance benefits derived from the experienced promoters in the packaged food and dairy industry, diverse range of product profiles under packaged foods and beverages having established brands like Frooti, AppyFIzz under franchisee agreement with Parle Agro Private Limited, and dairy segment like milk, UHT tetra pack under brand "Keventer", serves as market leader in the north eastern region, strong dealer distribution network with about reach to over 1,50,000 retail outlets across Eastern region. The company has sustained growth in revenues of about Rs. 1072 Cr. in FY 26(Estd.) as compared to Rs. 1025.26 Cr. in FY 25. It has an efficient working capital cycle marked by GCA days of 80 days in FY 25. The rating also derives comfort from the resourcefulness of the promoters to infuse funds in the form of unsecured loans, CCPS and CCD in the past as and when required to support the business and liquidity, In FY 27, the company has also refinanced its existing long term debt by availing fresh NCD of about Rs. 150 Cr. having a moratorium of 12 months. However, these strengths are partly offset by the decline in operating profitability in FY 26(Estd), below average financial risk profile and stretched liquidity.

About the Company

­­Incorporated in 1986 by Mr. Mahendra Kumar Jalan, Keventer Agro Limited acquired the rights of Edward Keventer’s operations and presently takes the legacy of over 125 years in packaged food and dairy industry. The company is engaged in packaged foods and beverages (contributes 42% of revenue generation in FY 26 Estd), dairy and dairy products and fresh fruits (banana) (contributes 52% of revenue generation in FY 26 Estd), trading of fruit pulp (majorly exports, which contributes 5% of revenue generation in FY26Estd) and job work of food items like noodles for ITC Limited. The company also owns a warehouse of 2 lakh sq. ft let out to Reliance Property and Project Management Services (contributes to 1% of the revenue generation). The plant location of the company is at Barasat, West Bengal. The directors of the company are Mr. Mayank Jalan, Mrs. Parvana Mayank Jalan, Ms. Shruti Swaika, Mr. Avinash Gupta, Mr. Sumit Krishna Deb, Mr. Ram Krishna Agarwal and Mr. Sanjeev Chopra.

Unsupported Rating

­Not Applicable

Analytical Approach

­Acuite has taken standalone business and financial view of Keventer Agro Limited.

Key Rating Drivers

Strengths

Benefits derived from the promoters along with market leader in Northeastern region The operations of the company are run by Mr. Mayank Jalan. Under his leadership, KAL has diversified into multiple sectors like packaged food business, exports, realty among others. The company has franchisee agreement with Parle Agro Private Limited since inception, and it is renewed after every 5 years. The company is also a market leader in the Northeastern region. It also a strong dealer distribution network, catering to over 1,50,000 retail outlets across eastern region. Acuite believes that the experienced promoters, healthy relationship with Parle Agro Private Limited along with strong dealer distribution network will benefit the company going forward.   Stable Revenues along with increase in operating profitability The revenues have remained stable at Rs. 1025.26 Cr. in FY 25 as compared to Rs. 1080.32 Cr. in FY 24 majorly on account of decline in sales in the packaged food and beverage segment. The company has booked revenues of about Rs. 1072 Cr. in FY 26(Estd) and about Rs. 372.82 Cr. in Q1FY27 (as compared to Rs. 312.91 Cr. in Q1FY 26). The operating profitability has increased to 3.57 percent in FY 25 as compared to 1.15 percent in FY 24 on account decrease in other manufacturing costs. The operating profitability had declined to about 2 percent in FY 26(Estd) due to erratic weather conditions, raw material prices increase and inability to pass it on the customers and intense competition faced by other market players and loss on fair valuation of 0.01% of CCPS recorded in P/L in FY 24 and FY 23. Going forward, the company has taken significant measures to improve operating profitability from FY 27 onwards. Efficient Working Capital Cycle The working capital cycle of the company is efficient as reflected by Gross Current Assets (GCA) of 80 days for March 31, 2025 as compared to 85 days for March 31, 2024. The debtor period stood at 14 days as on March 31, 2025 as compared to 21 days as on March 31, 2024. Further, the inventory days of the company stood at 50 days as on March 31, 2025 as compared to 44 days in FY2024. The creditor days stood at 50 days in FY 25 and FY 24. Acuité believes that the working capital operations of the company is expected to remain in the similar lines over the medium term.

Weaknesses

­­Below average financial risk profile The financial risk profile of the company is below average marked by declining net worth, moderate gearing and stretched debt protection metrics. The tangible net worth of the company stood at Rs. 234.62 Cr. as on March 31, 2025 as compared to Rs. 276.86 Cr. as on March 31, 2024 due to losses. In FY 26, CCPS of about Rs. 68 Cr. (tenure of 5 years) has been infused in tranches and Rs. 101.78 Cr. has been subordinated to bank loans and treated as quasi equity. The gearing of the company stood at 1.84 times as on March 31, 2025 and 1.62 times as on March 31, 2024. The Total Outside Liabilities/Tangible Net Worth (TOL/TNW) stood at 2.34 times as on March 31, 2025 as compared to 2.14 times as on March 31, 2024. The debt protection metrics of the company is marked below unity by Interest Coverage ratio (ICR) of 0.98 times as on March 31, 2025 and debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) of 0.48 times for March 31, 2025. The shortfall was met by infusion of unsecured loans in the business. The net cash accruals to total debt (NCA/TD) stood at 0.04 times as on March 31, 2025 as compared to (0.03) times as on March 31, 2024.  Acuité believes that the financial risk profile is expected to improve over the medium term in the absence of any debt funded capex plans.

Rating Sensitivities

Potential triggers (individual or collective) for an upward rating action:

­Sustained revenues in near term and Improvement in operating profitability to 5 percent in near term Improvement in the financial risk profile of the company Generation of sufficient net cash accruals to repay debt obligations in near term

Potential triggers (individual or collective) for a downward rating action:

Further Deterioration in the business risk profile ­DSCR continues to remain below unity Further Deterioration in the financial risk profile Elongation of working capital cycle

Liquidity Position

Stretched

The company has stretched liquidity marked by net cash accruals of Rs 15.25 Cr. as on FY2025 as against long term debt repayment of Rs. 80.46 Cr. over the same period. The shortfall was met by infusion of unsecured loans. For FY 27, there will be no debt obligation for the company, as the loans has been refinanced. The promoters have been supporting the company for the last 3 years, ensuring that the company meets all its obligations. The promoters have brought in around Rs 200 crores in the last 3 years in various forms – ICDs, CCDs, CCPS among other. The cash and bank balance stood at Rs. 13.33 Cr. as on March 31, 2025 and Rs. 11.89 Cr. as on March 31, 2025. Further, the current ratio of the company stood at 0.63 times as on March 31, 2025 as compared to 0.60 times as on March 31, 2024. The average bank utilization limit of the company for 6 months ended April 2026 is 85 percent. Acuité believes that the liquidity of the company is likely to remain in similar lines over the near to medium term on account of stretched accruals, low current ratio albeit low bank limit utilization.

Outlook: Stable

­

Other Factors affecting Rating

­None

Key Financials

Particulars	Unit	FY 25 (Actual)	FY 24 (Actual)
Operating Income	Rs. Cr.	1025.26	1080.32
PAT	Rs. Cr.	(42.97)	(78.77)
PAT Margin	(%)	(4.19)	(7.29)
Total Debt/Tangible Net Worth	Times	1.84	1.62
PBDIT/Interest	Times	0.98	0.29

Status of non-cooperation with previous CRA (if applicable)

­None

Any other information

­None

Applicable Criteria

• Default Recognition :- https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-52.htm • Manufacturing Entities: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-59.htm • Application Of Financial Ratios And Adjustments: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-53.htm

Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument

­In order to inform the investors about complexity of instruments, Acuité has categorized such instruments in three levels: Simple, Complex and Highly Complex. Acuite’s categorisation of the instruments across the three categories is based on factors like variability of the returns to the investors, uncertainty in cash flow patterns, number of counterparties and general understanding of the instrument by the market. It has to be understood that complexity is different from credit risk and even an instrument categorized as 'Simple' can carry high levels of risk. For more details, please refer Rating Criteria “Complexity Level Of Financial Instruments” on www.acuite.in.

Rating History:Not Applicable

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Contacts

Mohit Jain Chief Analytical Officer - Rating Operations Vedika Lahoti Associate Analyst - Rating Operations	Contact details exclusively for investors and lenders Mob: +91 8591310146 Email ID: analyticalsupport@acuite.in

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